Free Rooftop Solar for Homes Using Up to 300 Units Under Pradhan Mantri Suryoday Yojna

The Indian government plans to find one crore households using up to 300 units of electricity monthly for its new rooftop solar scheme called ‘Pradhan Mantri Suryoday Yojna.’ The households in this category won’t need to pay for the solar panels on their roofs, according to RK Singh, the Union minister for power and renewable energy.

In the recent Budget, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman mentioned this scheme would enable 10 million households to sell their surplus solar energy and is projected to yield annual savings between ₹15,000 and ₹18,000 per household.

Singh clarified that low-income houses under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojna will be included in this scheme, along with other households using up to 300 units per month.

The government has assigned eight public sector undertakings to implement the scheme nationwide. They will handle the installation of solar panels in these one crore households. The funding for this program will come partly from increasing the subsidy for rooftop solar to 60 percent. The rest will be covered by loans from institutions like REC Ltd.

Singh explained that the excess solar power generated will be used to pay off the loan taken by the public sector undertakings. The loan term is expected to be up to 10 years.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced the launch of the Pradhan Mantri Suryoday Yojna for one crore houses. It will also be open to households using more than 300 units of electricity per month, but they’ll have to install the rooftop panels themselves, although they’ll still be eligible for a subsidy.

The government is also working on making low-cost financing available for rooftop solar and is improving its vendor list to help consumers make informed decisions about solar panels’ quality.